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Post by Lance on Apr 7, 2014 22:09:08 GMT -5
I'm likely headed back to Roatan Honduras next spring/early summer for several weeks. I thought I'd ask and see if anyone here dives and might have interest in joining for part of the trip.  |
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 7, 2014 22:12:35 GMT -5
My wife and I dive, PADI advanced...looking to book our next trip, so may be open to suggestions.
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 7, 2014 22:15:41 GMT -5
But the real question, who else here dives in Maine waters???
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Post by Lance on Apr 7, 2014 22:18:23 GMT -5
I've never dived here. What's it like? How cold?
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 7, 2014 22:30:37 GMT -5
I've never dived here. What's it like? How cold? Diving here is great under the right conditions, but it's always cold...a warm dive is anything over 60. Visibility is very limited, but there is more life per square foot than on a reef typically. The right wetsuit, gloves, and boots and it's toasty warm! Check my Maine SCUBA photos below. www.flickr.com/photos/scubadro/sets/ |
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Post by Lance on Apr 7, 2014 22:38:06 GMT -5
I've never dived here. What's it like? How cold? ....but there is more life per square foot than on a reef typically. Cool pics. ....but if you think there's more life per square foot in the north Atlantic than on a healthy tropical reef, you really need to dive a healthy reef. ? Hint: Roatan. |
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 7, 2014 22:43:22 GMT -5
....but there is more life per square foot than on a reef typically. Cool pics. ....but if you think there's more life per square foot in the north Atlantic than on a healthy tropical reef, you really need to dive a healthy reef. ? Hint: Roatan. I said life, I didn't say pretty...and I shouldn't of said reef, I should of said tropical waters...away from the reef is a desert in warm water, loaded with life in cold. |
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 7, 2014 22:46:38 GMT -5
Lance, just curious, how many dives have you logged?
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Post by Lance on Apr 7, 2014 23:05:15 GMT -5
I would guess around 30 now. And countless hours snorkeling/free diving.
Re: your comment above about life in cold vs tropical, not sure what you're saying. First, I don't imagine either of us is blue water diving...we're both diving near a substrate whether we're talking rocky bottom, reef, or sand bed. So I don't think we're taking about pelagic life.
Maybe you're talking biomass while i meant biodiversity. Diversity of life is certainly much higher on a tropical reef per square meter. I'm unaware of any environment other than tropical rainforests that can compete with a tropical reef on this. I can certainly imagine that biomass might be greater in Maine waters due to the nutrient rich waters here.
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Apr 8, 2014 7:06:35 GMT -5
It's a goal of mine to eventually become dive certified at some point. For now though I've never been diving with dive equipment but I've put in quite a lot of hours of snorkeling and free diving down around the harpswell area. Nothing deeper than 12-14 feet though. It amazes me just how much color there is in maines coastal waters. So much red, orange and yellow sponge life. I've net caught baby sculpins and gunnels. Hand caught lobsters of all sizes. It's simply amazing up here. The next step is getting an underwater camera to take pics.
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 8, 2014 8:23:08 GMT -5
I would guess around 30 now. And countless hours snorkeling/free diving. Re: your comment above about life in cold vs tropical, not sure what you're saying. First, I don't imagine either of us is blue water diving...we're both diving near a substrate whether we're talking rocky bottom, reef, or sand bed. So I don't think we're taking about pelagic life. Correct... It's more of an observation, and general opinion of people I know that dive in Maine and elsewhere...in Maine, if you take a boat to any spot of a certain depth (say 40 feet), jump in, you will find something interesting. In the tropics, find a random spot at the same depth (40 feet), it's hit or miss...depends on if you are close to a reef or not. Sand=Typically barren. There are more nutrients in the colder waters, and the oxygen content is higher. I will say, you do see a lot more fish on a reef. |
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Post by Lance on Apr 8, 2014 8:42:49 GMT -5
Maybe you're talking biomass while i meant biodiversity. Diversity of life is certainly much higher on a tropical reef per square meter. I'm unaware of any environment other than tropical rainforests that can compete with a tropical reef on this. I can certainly imagine that biomass might be greater in Maine waters due to the nutrient rich waters here. It's more of an observation, and general opinion of people I know that dive in Maine and elsewhere...in Maine, if you take a boat to any spot of a certain depth (say 40 feet), jump in, you will find something interesting. In the tropics, find a random spot at the same depth (40 feet), it's hit or miss...depends on if you are close to a reef or not. Sand=Typically barren. There are more nutrients in the colder waters, and the oxygen content is higher. I will say, you do see a lot more fish on a reef. I agree - in the tropics you dive the reef, not the sand flats...although there are interesting things there too. Eel gardens, blennys, razor fish, flatfish, rays, schools of squid, etc. Most people don't see them because they are cryptic critters. Also, I cannot express how nice and pristine the reef is in Roatan. In some places the reef starts at waist height and at worst it's a 200m swim out to the barrier. There is nothing left comparable in the places most people dive - Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas. For (a mind-blowing exceptional) example, check this out: |
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Post by Lance on Apr 8, 2014 8:55:21 GMT -5
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Post by Frank on Apr 8, 2014 15:27:45 GMT -5
I have been certified since college but don't have a lot of dives. My wife just got certified in March when we went to DR.
My cert dives were in the quarry off Acadia in April.
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Apr 8, 2014 20:59:13 GMT -5
It's a goal of mine to eventually become dive certified at some point. For now though I've never been diving with dive equipment but I've put in quite a lot of hours of snorkeling and free diving down around the harpswell area. Nothing deeper than 12-14 feet though. It amazes me just how much color there is in maines coastal waters. So much red, orange and yellow sponge life. I've net caught baby sculpins and gunnels. Hand caught lobsters of all sizes. It's simply amazing up here. The next step is getting an underwater camera to take pics. Getting certified is cheaper than a single Radion! |
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